Leadership Skills

Team Assessment

What exactly does it mean, "to be a team player"? Does it mean always giving in to what others think, spending wasted time in endless meetings, or socializing with "the team"? Teams must be able to solve problems, create plans, manage activities, develop and maintain relationships, and communicate. These will require members to have these specific skills: listening, planning, evaluating, cooperating, and maintaining relationships.

The following can be used to assess a team.

• Communication
  1. Is discussion proscribed or skewed?
  2. Are only a few select team members allowed to speak?
  3. Do many members speak?
  4. Is discussion open and lively?
• Contributions
  1. Does one member control the team?
  2. Do half of the members contribute nothing?
  3. Do a majority of members participate?
  4. Are all members seen as making valuable contributions?
• Atmosphere
  1. Are members competitive and disrespectful of each other?
  2. Are a few members working together, but not the rest?
  3. Do the majority of team members cooperate?
  4. Do all team members appreciate and respect each other?
• Importance
  1. Are meetings off-track and disorganized?
  2. Do a few members disrupt the meetings and take things off-track?
  3. Are meetings run smoothly with an agenda, but occasionally they get sidetracked?
  4. Are meetings conducted efficiently and handled in a business-like manner?

It is important to periodically review your team to assess how you are doing. A checklist is one quick way to do that. At the completion of your project, you should evaluate the project and each team member's contribution towards the project.